COMMUNICATIONS 



Ice Patrol communications included receiving 

 reports of ice and environmental conditions, 

 transmitting Ice Bulletins and a daily facsimile 

 chart, and the administrative and operational 

 traffic necessary to the conduct of the Patrol. 

 The Ice Bulletins were sent by teletype from the 

 Third Coast Guard District Communications 

 Center in New York to over 30 addressees, in- 

 cluding those radio stations broadcasting the 

 Bulletin. These stations were the U.S. Coast 

 Guard Communications Station Boston/NIK/ 

 NMF, U.S. Naval Radio Station Norfolk/NAM, 

 Canadian Coastal Radio Station St. John's/VON 

 and Canadian Forces Maritime Command Radio 

 Station Mill Cove/CFH. 



Coast Guard Communications Station Boston 

 transmitted the Ice Bulletin by CVV at 0018 GMT 

 on 5230 and 8502 kHz and at 1218 GMT on 8502 

 and 12750 kHz. After a 2-minute series of test 

 signals the transmissions were made at 25 words 

 per minute and then repeated at 15 words per 

 minute. Coast Guard Communications Station 

 Boston/NIK also transmitted a daily radiofac- 

 simile broadcast depicting the locations of ice- 

 bergs and sea ice at 1600 GMT simultaneously 

 on 8502 and 12750 kHz at a drum speed of 120 

 revolutions per minute. 



Ice Bulletins were also broadcast twice daily 

 by U.S. Naval Radio Station Norfolk/NAM at 

 0430 and 1700 GMT on 88.0 (except the Tuesday 

 1700 GMT transmission was made on 134.9 kHz), 

 5870, 8090, 12135, 16180, 20225 (1700 GMT only) 

 and 25590 (1200 GMT only) kHz; Canadi'an 

 Maritime Command Radio Station Mill Cove/ 

 CFH at 0130 and 1330 GMT on 438 (except the 

 1330 GMT transmission the seconr! Thursday 

 each month), 4356.5, 6449.5, 8662, 12984, 17218.4 

 and 22587 (on request) kHz; and Canadian 

 Coastal Radio Station St. John's/VON at 0000 

 and 1330 GMT on 478 kHz. 



Radiofacsimile broadcasts that included the 

 limits of icebergs were also made by Fleet 

 Weather Central Norfolk/NFAX at 0320 and 

 1520 GMT on 4957, 8080, 10865, 16410 and 20015 

 kHz; Canadian Maritime Command Radio Mill 

 Cove/CFH at 0000 and 1200 GMT on 133.15, 

 4271, 9890, 13510 and 17560 kHz; Radio Brack- 

 nell/GFE at 1400 GMT on 4782, 9203, 14436 and 

 18261 kHz; and Radio Hamburg/DGC and 



Pinneburg/DGN at 0905 and 2145 GMT on 

 3695.3 and 13627.1 kHz, all at drum speed 120. 



Special broadcasts were made by Canadian 

 Coastal Radio Station St. John's/VON as re- 

 quired when icebergs were sighted outside the 

 limits of ice between regularly scheduled broad- 

 casts. These transmissions were preceded by the 

 International Safety Signal (TTT) on 500 kHz. 



Merchant ships calling to transmit ice sight- 

 ings, weather and sea surface temperatures were 

 requested to use the regularly assigned interna- 

 tional call signs of the Coast Guard Ocean 

 Stations, East Coast AMVER Radio Stations, or 

 Canadian Coastal Radio Station St. John's/VON. 

 All Coast Guard Stations were alert to answer 

 NIK/NIDK calls, if used. 



Ice information services for the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence, as well as the approaches and coastal 

 waters of Newfoundland and Labrador, were 

 provided by the Canadian Ministry of Transport 

 from December until approximately late June. 

 Ships obtained ice information by contacting the 

 Ice Operations Officer, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia 

 via Sydney Marine Radio/VCO or Halifax 

 Marine Radio/VCS. 



Communications statistics for the period Sep- 

 tember 1, 1973 through August 31, 1974 are 

 shown in Table 2. 



TABLE 2- -COMMUNICATIONS STATISTICS 



Number of ice reports received from ships — 540 



Number of ships furnishing ice reports 178 



Number of ice reports received from com- 

 merical aircraft 4 



Number of sea surface temperature reports _ 919 



Number of ships furnishing sea surface tem- 

 perature reports 59 



Number of ships requesting special ice infor- 

 mation 77 



Number of NIK Ice Bulletins issued 292 



Number of NIK facsimile broadcasts 146 



